System and method for assessing and managing financial transactions

ABSTRACT

A financial terms alert generation system comprises an information retrieval module, a financial terms comparison module, and an alert transmission module. The information retrieval module is configured to retrieve financing information, customer information, and product information from one or more sources accessible on a network. The financial terms comparison module is configured to compare a customer&#39;s current financial arrangement to a potential new financial arrangement to determine whether the customer is able to enter into a new financial arrangement on terms favorable to the customer. The alert transmission module is configured to transmit an alert to a dealer in cases in which the financial terms comparison module determines that a customer is able to enter into a new financial arrangement on terms favorable to the customer. Such alerts identify the customer and the favorable financial terms.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/299,293 filed Nov. 17, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/076,203 filed Mar. 30, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,095,461, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/911,552 filed Oct. 25, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,005,752, which iscontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/996,122, filed Nov.23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,827,009, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/525,233, which was filed Nov. 25,2003 and is entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSESSING AND MANAGINGFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.” The foregoing applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the system and method described herein relate to alertingdealers when favorable financial terms are available to customers.

2. Description of the Related Art

Rather than paying cash for a product, a person may enter a financialagreement (e.g., a purchase agreement, a lease agreement, deferred orballoon payment agreement, or the like) in which the person makes aseries of payments for a specified term. Often, these payments areperiodic, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, or the like. Forexample, if a person purchases an automobile, the person may expect topay a series of substantially similar monthly payments for one or moreyears.

During the term of the financial agreement (the “current agreement”)covering the first product (“the current product”), a person may desireto use a second product (a “replacement product”) in lieu of the currentproduct. In such an instance, to obtain the replacement product, aperson may be willing to return the current product and enter a secondfinancial agreement (a “replacement agreement”) that satisfies the firstfinancial agreement. For example, a person having two years of paymentsremaining on his automobile lease may be willing to return theautomobile to a dealership and enter a new lease for a latest model. Thereplacement agreement may be any suitable type of financial agreement(e.g., a purchase contract, a lease, deferred payment, or the like),including the same type as the current agreement or a different type. Insome instances, a person will agree to enter a replacement agreement ifthe replacement product and payments are acceptable. For example, aperson may find the replacement product and the payments under the termsof the replacement agreement acceptable if they are sufficiently similarto the current product and payments under the current agreement.

If a seller of products, such as an automobile dealership, knows when acustomer is able to enter into a new financial arrangement under termsfavorable to the customer, the seller can take advantage of thisknowledge by offering a deal to the customer that includes the favorableterms. Accordingly, such knowledge, if possessed by the dealer, candrive increased sales. Nevertheless, no system or method has existed foralerting a seller when a customer is able to enter a new financialarrangement under terms favorable to the customer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the system and method described herein systematicallygenerate and send alerts to dealers when customers are able to enter newfinancial arrangements under terms favorable to the customer.Advantageously, the knowledge that embodiments of the system and methodmake available to dealers can significantly increase the dealers' sales.

In one embodiment, a financial terms alert generation system comprisesan information retrieval module, a financial terms comparison module,and an alert transmission module. The information retrieval module isconfigured to retrieve financing information, customer information, andproduct information from one or more sources accessible on a network.Such information can be retrieved, for example, from websites located onthe World Wide Web. The financial terms comparison module is configuredto compare a customer's current financial arrangement to a potential newfinancial arrangement to determine whether the customer is able to enterinto a new financial arrangement on terms favorable to the customer. Inone embodiment, the financial terms comparison module performed at leastone calculation based on the retrieved information in order to make thiscomparison. The alert transmission module is configured to transmit analert to a dealer in cases in which the financial terms comparisonmodule determines that a customer is able to enter into a new financialarrangement on terms favorable to the customer. Such alerts identify tothe dealer the customer that is able to enter into a new financialarrangement on terms favorable to the customer and identify to thedealer the terms of the new financial arrangement.

Embodiments of the system disclosed herein perform a number of processesfor alerting a dealer when a customer can enter into a new financialarrangement with terms favorable to the customer. For example, one suchprocess includes (1) retrieving financing, customer, and productinformation, (2) comparing, for each of a plurality of customers, thecustomer's current financial terms for a financial arrangement relatedto a first product currently owned or leased by the customer withpotential financial terms related to a second product comparable to thefirst product that would be available to the customer under a newfinancial arrangement in order to determine whether the new financialarrangement has terms favorable to the customer, (3) generating, foreach customer for which the comparing shows that the new financialarrangement has terms favorable to the customer, an alert comprisinginformation identifying the customer and indicating the terms favorableto the customer under the new arrangement, and (4) transmitting thealerts to at least one dealer.

Another process that can be performed by an embodiment of the systemincludes (1) receiving a modified financial variable, (2) comparing, foreach of a plurality of customers, the customer's current financial termsfor a financial arrangement related to a first product currently ownedor leased by the customer with potential financial terms related to asecond product comparable to the first product that would be availableto the customer under a new financial arrangement, taking into accountthe modified financial variable, in order to determine whether the newfinancial arrangement has terms favorable to the customer, (3)generating, for each customer for which the comparing shows that the newfinancial arrangement has terms favorable to the customer, an alertcomprising information identifying the customer and indicating the termsfavorable to the customer under the new arrangement, and (4)transmitting the alerts to at least one dealer.

Advantageously, by performing the foregoing process, embodiments of thesystem are able to determine how changed financial variables affectwhether customers can enter new financial arrangements with favorableterms. For example, this process can be used to generate alerts when anew financial incentive, such as a manufacturer rebate or a dealershipincentive, allows customers to enter new financial arrangements withfavorable terms.

Advantageously, embodiments of the system are able to generate alertsrelated to a particular customer in real-time. This advantageouscapability can be used to generate an alert when a customer enters adealership, such as when a customer has taken his car to a dealershipfor service. Advantageously, in this embodiment, the alerts aregenerated in real-time, such that if favorable financial terms areavailable to the customer, the dealer can attempt to sell a new productto the customer while the customer is still at the dealership.Accordingly, this embodiment can be used to drive increased sales. Inaccordance with the foregoing embodiment, the system performs a processincluding (1) receiving an identification of a customer, (2) retrieving,in real-time, financial information regarding a current financialarrangement of the customer identified by the identification, whereinthe current financial arrangement relates to a first product currentlyowned or leased by the identified customer, (3) comparing currentfinancial terms of the current financial arrangement with potentialfinancial terms related to a second product comparable to the firstproduct that would be available to the identified customer under a newfinancial arrangement in order to determine whether the new financialarrangement has terms favorable to the identified customer, (4)generating an alert comprising information identifying terms favorableto the identified customer under the new financial arrangement if thecomparing shows that the new financial arrangement has terms favorableto the identified customer, and (5) transmitting the alert in real-timeto at least one dealer.

Accordingly, the foregoing embodiments timely alert dealers regardingopportunities to sell new products to customers by identifyingcircumstances under which a customer can enter a new financialarrangement with terms favorable to the customer. This and otheradvantages of the foregoing embodiments will be apparent to a skilledartisan in light of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1G illustrate an example deal sheet generated by one embodimentof a financial terms alert generation system.

FIGS. 1H-1J illustrate formulae for calculating certain terms offinancial arrangements, as used by one embodiment of a financial termsalert generation system.

FIGS. 1K-8 are example screen shots illustrating functionality ofvarious embodiments of a financial terms alert generation system.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an example deal sheet generated by oneembodiment of a financial terms alert generation system.

FIGS. 11-33 are example screen shots illustrating functionality ofvarious embodiments of a financial terms alert generation system.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating how, in one embodiment of afinancial alert generation system, internal data, external data, andhistorical data are used to generate one or more alerts.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example deal sheet generated by one embodiment ofa financial terms alert generation system.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart that illustrates a process of alerting adealership when a customer can be offered a new lease or other financialarrangement, as performed by one embodiment of a financial terms alertgeneration system.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart that illustrates another embodiment of a processof alerting a dealership when a customer can be offered a new lease orother financial arrangement, as performed by one embodiment of afinancial terms alert generation system.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart that illustrates process for detecting andpresenting a deal to a customer in real-time, as performed by oneembodiment of a financial terms alert generation system.

FIG. 39 is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of afinancial terms alert generation system attached to a computer network.

FIG. 40 is an example screen shot that illustrates a class selectionfeature of one embodiment of a financial terms alert generation system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the system described herein may be used to assess thedesirability of a new financial arrangement such as a replacementagreement. For example, in response to a customer's inquiry, asalesperson may use certain embodiments of the system to generate a dealsheet to determine whether replacement product and payments areacceptable to the client. In another example, certain embodiments of thesystem may generate notifications or alerts, which may advantageouslyindicate a potential replacement agreement satisfies certain parametersthat indicate that the potential replacement agreement has termsfavorable to the customer. Using these alerts, a person (such as asalesperson) may proactively contact a customer to offer the potentialreplacement agreement. To help manage client-contact-related tasks,certain embodiments may advantageously include contact managementfeatures.

Details regarding several illustrative preferred embodiments forimplementing the system and method described herein are described belowwith reference to the figures. At times, features of certain embodimentsare described below in accordance with that which will be understood orappreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the systemand method described herein pertain. For conciseness and readability,such a “person of ordinary skill in the art” is often referred to as a“skilled artisan.”

It will be apparent to a skilled artisan, in light of this disclosure,that the system and method described herein can advantageously beimplemented using computer software, hardware, firmware, or anycombination of software, hardware, and firmware. In one embodiment, thesystem is implemented as a number of software modules that comprisecomputer executable code for performing the functions described herein.In one embodiment, the computer-executable code is executed on one ormore general purpose computers. However, a skilled artisan willappreciate, in light of this disclosure, that any module that can beimplemented using software to be executed on a general purpose computercan also be implemented using a different combination of hardware,software, or firmware. For example, such a module can be implementedcompletely in hardware using a combination of integrated circuits.Alternatively or additionally, such a module can be implementedcompletely or partially using specialized computers designed to performthe particular functions described herein rather than by general purposecomputers.

It will also be apparent to a skilled artisan, in light of thisdisclosure, that the modules described herein can be combined ordivided. For example, a skilled artisan will appreciate, in light ofthis disclosure, that any two or more modules can be combined into onemodule. Thus, referring to FIG. 39, the information retrieval module3930 and the financial terms comparison module 3935 can be combined intoa single module that performs the functions of both modules. Conversely,any one module can be divided into multiple modules. For example, theinformation retrieval module 3930 can be divided into multiple modulessuch that each individual module performs part of the functions of theinformation retrieval module 3930 and all of the modules collectivelyperform all such functions.

Similarly, a number of databases are described herein. A skilled artisanwill appreciate, in light of this disclosure, that any two or moredatabases can be combined into one database and that any one databasecan be divided into multiple databases.

A skilled artisan will also appreciate, in light of this disclosure,that multiple distributed computing devices can be substituted for anyone computing device illustrated herein. In such distributedembodiments, the functions of the one computing device are distributedsuch that some functions are performed on each of the distributedcomputing devices.

The foregoing and other variations understood by a skilled artisan canbe made to the embodiments described herein without departing from theinvention. With the understanding therefore, that the describedembodiments are illustrative and that the invention is not limited tothe described embodiments, certain embodiments are described below withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A illustrates an embodiment of a deal sheet 102, which mayadvantageously include a description of a client's current agreement(FIG. 1B), the client's contact information and a description of thereplacement product (FIG. 1C), and a comparison between the client'scurrent agreement and one or more replacement agreements (FIG. 1D). Anysuitable number of replacement agreements may be displayed, includingbut not limited to one, two, three, four, five, six, or more replacementagreements. Any suitable number of lenders for replacement agreementsmay be displayed, including but not limited to one, two, or morelenders. The replacement agreements may be for any suitable term,including but not limited to 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, or anyother period. As illustrated, a replacement agreement's payment isadvantageously shown along with the difference between the client'scurrent financial agreement's payment and the replacement agreement'spayment. Thus, using the deal sheet, a salesperson may advantageouslyreview a plurality of replacement agreements from a plurality oflenders.

FIGS. 1E, 1F, and 1G illustrate portions of an embodiment of a dealsheet. As illustrated in FIG. 1E, the text 104 indicates that the dealsheet is associated with an alert. Text 106 advantageously identifiesinformation about the deal sheet. As illustrated, text 106 illustratesthat it is a manager-level view of a lease. In one embodiment, varyinglevels of detail from the detail sheet are shown to different personsaccessing the system. Accordingly, the system may be advantageously usedto customize varying views for the persons accessing the system to anappropriate level of detail. For example, a salesperson may need lessdetail than a manager. In one embodiment, the system determines theidentity, the employment position, or both to ascertain the level ofdetail to display to a user of the system. Although a lease isillustrated, the information displayed may be use for other agreements,such as a purchase agreement. Text 108 may indicate that the alert isassociated with a particular person (e.g., a salesperson) or a group ofpersons (e.g., a “house account” for some or all salespersons).

As illustrated in FIG. 1E, section 110 of the deal sheet includesinformation about the current product. The information about the currentproduct may include any suitable information, including but not limitedto a product identifier that preferably uniquely identifies the product(e.g., a vehicle identification number or VIN or the like), a classidentifier identifying a group of models, a series identifieridentifying a particular model, a model year, a make, a model, or thelike. The information about the current product may be obtained from anysuitable resource, including but not limited to a governmental agency(e.g., a department of motor vehicles), the current product'smanufacturer, a local distributor of the current product (e.g., thelocal car dealership that sold the current product or the like), anonline database of transactions, or the like. The information about thecurrent product may be added to the system in any suitable manner (e.g.,including but not limited to manual entry, automated entry, manualimportation, automatic importation, static addition, dynamic addition,or the like) and using any suitable form of data (e.g., database, flatfile, or the like). In some instances, the local car dealership thatsold the current product may have some or all of the information aboutthe current product in a software system from which the information maybe obtained. In some instances, the current product's manufacturer mayhave some or all of the information about the current agreement in awebsite from which the information may be obtained.

As illustrated in FIG. 1E, section 112 includes information about thecurrent agreement, which may include any suitable information, includingbut not limited to the date the agreement started, the date theagreement ends, the original capitalized cost (or amount financed), theend of term residual (or deferred) payment, the term of the agreement, abase periodic payment (which may be pre tax in certain states), anactual periodic payment (which may be post-tax in certain states), thepayoff amount (e.g., the amount owed to the lender to satisfy theagreement), a date until which the lender will accept the payoff amountin satisfaction of the agreement (e.g., a date representing the end of aten-day period or other suitable period), a trade-in value associatedwith the product under the agreement, a trade equity (e.g., the trade-invalue less the payoff amount), and a security deposit (if any) held bythe lender. In one embodiment, the trade-in value is an average oftrade-in values over a suitable period, which values may be obtainedfrom one or more suitable sources. In one embodiment, values over aten-year period are obtained from an online auction website and groupedby a suitable geographic region. In one embodiment, the trade-in valueis manually adjustable. Trade-in values may be selected from anysuitable location, including but not limited to one or more cardealerships. In one embodiment, trade-in values may have associatedassumptions (e.g., mileage, condition, or the like). Of course, anysuitable method for calculating a trade-in value may be used. The term“trade-in value” is a broad term and is used herein in its ordinarysense and further includes without limitation aspects of someembodiments disclosed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 1E, section 114includes additional information concerning the current agreement,including the number of payments the client has made under theagreement, the number of payments remaining under the agreement, thenumber of times (if any) the client has made late payments (includingpayments 30 days late, 60 days late, 90 days late, or the like), and thetotal of remaining payments and any additional fees to conclude theagreement as scheduled under the agreement.

The information about the current agreement (e.g., FIG. 1E) may beobtained from any suitable resource, including but not limited to thelender that financed the current agreement, a governmental agency (e.g.,a department of motor vehicles), the current product's manufacturer, alocal distributor of the current product (e.g., the local car dealershipthat sold the current product or the like), an online database oftransactions, or the like. The information about the current agreementmay be added to the system in any suitable manner (e.g., including butnot limited to manual entry, automated entry, manual importation,automatic importation, static addition, dynamic addition, or the like)and using any suitable form of data (e.g., database, flat file, or thelike). In some instances, the local car dealership that sold the currentproduct may have some or all of the information about the currentagreement in a software system from which the information may beobtained. In some instances, the current product's manufacturer may havesome or all of the information about the current product in a websitefrom which the information may be obtained.

As illustrated in FIG. 1F, the text 120 indicates that the deal sheet isprovided by a particular car dealership. Text 122 indicates the clientfor whom the deal sheet was created. Section 124 includes informationcontact information for the client, such as the client's name, address,and telephone numbers. The information about the client may be obtainedfrom any suitable resource, including but not limited to a governmentalagency (e.g., a department of motor vehicles), the current product'smanufacturer, a local distributor of the current product (e.g., thelocal car dealership that sold the current product or the like), anonline database of transactions, or the like. The information about theclient may be added to the system in any suitable manner (e.g.,including but not limited to manual entry, automated entry, manualimportation, automatic importation, static addition, dynamic addition,or the like) and using any suitable form of data (e.g., database, flatfile, or the like). In some instances, the local car dealership thatsold the current product may have some or all of the information aboutthe client in a software system from which the information may beobtained. In some instances, the current product's manufacturer may havesome or all of the information about the client in a website from whichthe information may be obtained.

As illustrated in FIG. 1F, section 126 may include any suitableinformation about the replacement product, including but not limited toa class identifier identifying a group of models, a series identifieridentifying a particular model, a model year, a make, a model, a sellingprice associated with the product (e.g., an average selling price), thetrade equity value illustrated in section 112 (FIG. 1E), a subsidyamount (if any) the seller of the replacement product would be willingto accept below the selling price associated with the product, the totalselling price (or capitalized cost) on the replacement product includingany equity and including sales tax (if any), sales tax (if any), and thetotal amount financed including trade equity and sales tax. Theinformation about the replacement product may be obtained from anysuitable resource, including but not limited to a governmental agency(e.g., a department of motor vehicles), to the replacement product'smanufacturer, a local distributor of the replacement product (e.g., alocal dealership), an online database of transactions, or the like. Theinformation about the replacement product may be added to the system inany suitable manner (e.g., including but not limited to manual entry,automated entry, manual importation, automatic importation, staticaddition, dynamic addition, or the like) and using any suitable form ofdata (e.g., database, flat file, or the like). In some instances, alocal car dealership may have some or all of the information about thereplacement product in a software system from which the information maybe obtained. In some instances, the replacement product's manufacturermay have some or all of the information about the replacement product ina website from which the information may be obtained.

As illustrated in FIG. 1G, the section headings 130 indicate the namesof the lenders associated with the replacement agreements shown underthe section headings 130. Any suitable information about the replacementagreements may be displayed, including but not limited to a contractterm (e.g., 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, or the like), the type ofagreement (e.g., lease, purchase, deferred payment), a residual ordeferred payment amount, a capitalized cost or amount financed, a moneyfactor or interest rate charged on the replacement agreement, a periodicpayment associated with the replacement agreement, and difference (e.g.,text 134) between the client's periodic payment under the currentagreement (e.g., text 116 in FIG. 1E) and the payment under thereplacement agreement (e.g., text 132). For one of the illustratedreplacements agreements, text 134 indicates that the replacementagreement's payment is twelve dollars less than the current agreement'spayment. In one embodiment, the actual replacement agreement that theclient enters may differ from those displayed in the FIG. 1G; forexample, upon review of the current product, particular values (e.g., atrade-in value or selling price) may be adjusted higher or lower for anysuitable reason. Accordingly, a deal sheet may advantageously display anindication that the values on the deal sheet are estimates.

The information about the replacement agreements (FIG. 1G) may beobtained from any suitable resource, including but not limited to thelenders offering financing for the replacement agreement, thereplacement product's manufacturer, a local distributor of thereplacement product (e.g., a local dealership), an online database oftransactions, or the like. The information about the replacementagreement may be added to the system in any suitable manner (e.g.,including but not limited to manual entry, automated entry, manualimportation, automatic importation, static addition, dynamic addition,or the like) and using any suitable form of data (e.g., database, flatfile, or the like). In some instances, a local car dealership may havesome or all of the information about the replacement agreement in asoftware system from which the information may be obtained. In someinstances, the replacement product's manufacturer may have some or allof the information about the replacement agreement in a website fromwhich the information may be obtained.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1G, the replacement agreements areleases; however, replacement agreements may be any suitable type ofagreement, including but not limited to a lease agreement, a deferred orballoon agreement, a purchase agreement, or the like. The term“agreement” is a broad term and is used herein in its ordinary sense andfurther includes without limitation aspects of some embodimentsdisclosed herein. FIG. 1H illustrates one embodiment of a lease paymentformula; however, any suitable lease payment formula may be used. Theterm “lease” is a broad term and is used herein in its ordinary senseand further includes without limitation aspects of some embodimentsdisclosed herein. FIG. 1I illustrates one embodiment of a deferred orballoon payment formula; however, any suitable deferred or balloonpayment formula may be used. The term “deferred” is a broad term and isused herein in its ordinary sense and further includes withoutlimitation aspects of some embodiments disclosed herein. The term“balloon” is a broad term and is used herein in its ordinary sense andfurther includes without limitation aspects of some embodimentsdisclosed herein. FIG. 1J illustrates one embodiment of a purchasepayment formula; however, any suitable purchase payment formula may beused. The term “purchase” is a broad term and is used herein in itsordinary sense and further includes without limitation aspects of someembodiments disclosed herein.

A general architecture that implements the various features ofembodiments of the invention will now be described with reference todrawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided toillustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope ofthe invention.

Certain figures illustrate various views of a system, which may bedisplayed to a user of the system and which the user may access, review,use, or any suitable combination thereof. Some or all of these views maybe used with any other suitable views. In one embodiment, the systemuses a hypertext interface, such as HTML, MICROSOFT™ Active ServerPages, or the like. In one embodiment, the system is accessed via asecure system, such as a local area network or the like. For example,the system may be hosted using an in-house server with one or more localcomputers. However, any network may be used, including wide areanetworks, the Internet, or the like. Further, the system may beimplemented using one or more computers.

As described with respect to some embodiments herein, persons employedat an automobile dealership use the system; however, other suitable usesare contemplated outside of the automobile context. Further, although insome embodiments particular features are described with reference to asalesperson and a management person, any persons may use some or allaspects of the embodiments of the system.

FIG. 1K illustrates an internet browser that has buttons 101advantageously used to access functions of various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an initial log in screen in which a user enters ausername and password into fields 201 to gain authorized access to thesystem.

When the user accesses the system, an initial view screen isadvantageously displayed as illustrated in FIG. 3. The screenadvantageously displays the name 302 of the person associated with theusername and password. In the instance illustrated in FIG. 3, the personis a salesperson. The system may advantageously associate thesalesperson with clients. Any suitable association with clients may beused. For example, the clients may include but are not limited topersons to whom the salesperson may have sold an automobile, persons towhom the salesperson has been assigned by a supervisor, other persons,or any suitable combination thereof. Thus, by managing thesalesperson-client associations, the system may advantageously be usedto limit the client data that a salesperson may view to the associatedclients.

FIG. 3 illustrates contact management entries 300, which advantageouslymay include client information, transaction information, or any othersuitable information associated with clients. A client may have an entryassociated with the client's current automobile transaction, asillustrated by hyperlinks 304 that display the client name and one ormore associated automobile identifiers (e.g., make, model, year, or thelike). In response to selecting one of the hyperlinks 304, a contactmanagement view associated with the client is displayed, as describedbelow. In one embodiment, contact management entries may advantageouslybe associated with a particular date. Contract management entries mayadvantageously be displayed and grouped according to one or more dates.In another embodiment, new contact management entries are displayed. Thedisplayed entries may display any suitable parameter in the system,including but not limited to a stage in the contact management process,items associated with a particular date, tasks associated with aparticular date, actions taken during the contact management process, orthe like. In one embodiment, the contact management entries may be usedto schedule and track tasks associated with contact management. The usermay advantageously scroll down through this area and view tasks thathave scheduled for future follow up. In one embodiment, a contactmanagement entry is associated with a deal sheet. In one embodiment,when a new deal sheet is generated, an associated contact managemententry is also created. The system may generate deal sheets or contactmanagement entries at any suitable time. In one embodiment, the systemgenerates a deal sheet and an associated contact management entry whenthe system receives an update of information used to calculatereplacement agreements that are advantageously displayed in deal sheets.In one embodiment, deal sheets are generated periodically (e.g.,weekly). In one embodiment, deal sheets are generated dynamically. Inone embodiment, deal sheets are generated substantially continuously. Inone embodiment, when a new deal sheet is calculated, the prior dealsheet is retained and accessible through the client's history accessiblethrough a contact management entry or the like. In one embodiment, dealsheets are generated in response to a user request. In an embodimentwherein one or more deal sheet parameters are customizable (e.g., arebate amount or the like), a person may alter the one or moreparameters and review the number and types of deal sheets generated(e.g., how many alerts). Categories of deal sheets include, but are notlimited to, an “alert,” a “sale,” an “expired alert,” and a “leaseending.”

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a user may choose to customize the display ofthe contact management entries by filtering entries, sorting entries,ordering entries, ranking entries, or any suitable combination thereof.Although particular parameters are illustrated in FIG. 3, any suitableparameter in the system may be used as a reference for customization.Selecting one or more of checkboxes 306 may be used to limit thedisplayed contact management entries to a particular combination of saleor transaction types associated with a client, such as a lease, a retailsale, a balloon, or the like. For example, a client may have an existinglease of an automobile or may have purchased an automobile and iscurrently making payments. Selecting one or more of checkboxes 308 maybe used to limit the displayed contact management entries to a categoryof deal sheets associated with a client, such as a sale, an alert, anexpired alert, a lease ending, or the like. In one embodiment, an alertcomprises a deal sheet that fits into one or more parameters. Forexample, in one embodiment, an alert comprises a deal sheet in which areplacement agreement for an associated replacement product has anassociated payment within 10% of a payment associated with the client'scurrent agreement. Any suitable range may be used. For example, therange could be set from at any value from 1% to 200% or more than 200%.In one embodiment, a lease ending deal sheet comprises a deal sheet fora client whose current agreement is a lease and that lease will endwithin a specified time (e.g., near the end of the lease). In oneembodiment, a lease ending deal sheet comprises a deal sheet for aclient whose lease will end in 6 months, 180 days, or the like. Anysuitable time prior to the end of the client's lease may be used toidentify a lease ending deal sheet. Accordingly, the contact managemententries may be queried for leases ending within a specific period. Inone embodiment, the display of entries may be ordered to view contactmanagement entries associated with lease ending deal sheets beginningwith those furthest from maturity or beginning with the leases whichwill end soonest. In one embodiment, an “expired alert” deal sheetcomprises a deal sheet that was previously within one or more parametersassociated with an alert, but no longer is because one or more parametervalues changed. The expired alert deal sheet advantageously provides areference point as sales associates continue to communicate with theirclients. In one embodiment, a “sale” deal sheet comprises a deal sheetthat is a default category that is not an alert, a lease ending, or anexpired alert. Selecting one or more of checkboxes 310 may be used tolimit the displayed contact management entries to those at one or moreparticular stages in the contact management process, such as where theentry is new, where a telephone call has been made, where an appointmenthas been made, where a sale occurred, where no sale occurred, or anyother stage suitable for managing contacts with persons. Entering one ormore words into field 312 may be used to limit the displayed contactmanagement entries to those including those words. For example, if theuser wanted to see only entries associated with a particular model ofcar, the user could enter the particular model of car into field 312.Similarly, to view entries associated with a client having a particularname, the user could enter the name into field 312. In one embodiment,to view the customized display of contact management entries, button 314is selected. In one embodiment, radio buttons or other suitablegraphical user interface elements (not shown) associated with datafields in the system may be used to sort the contact management entries.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the display shown in FIG. 3 in whichthe hyperlink 402 is selected. In response to the selection of hyperlink402, a contact management view 500 is displayed as illustrated in FIG.5. Text 501 identifies the name of client associated with hyperlink 402.The client name and vehicle descriptor is also shown in text 502.Listbox 503 displays the owner of the entry (e.g., a salespersonassigned to the client). Listbox 504 indicates the current stage in thecontact management process. In one embodiment, a user may select a stageand save the newly selected stage in the system. Listbox 505 indicates apriority associated with the contact management process. In oneembodiment, a user may select a priority and save the newly selectedpriority in the system. Priorities may advantageously indicate whetherspecific contact must take place, should take place, or is not needed.In one embodiment, an icon, text, or the like (not shown) isadvantageously displayed adjacent entries 304 (FIG. 3) to indicate anassociated priority. Any suitable icon, color, or text may be used toindicate different priorities. In one embodiment, a different coloredicon is associated with each priority. Listbox 506 indicates a statusassociated with the contact management process. For example, the usermay record contact management-related actions taken for the client byselecting a particular status from the list box 506, which displays alist of selectable statuses 601 (FIG. 6). In one embodiment, a user mayselect a status and save the newly selected status in the system. Astatus may indicate, for example, that the salesperson called the clientand left a message, called the client and set an appointment, or thelike. Field 507 allows text to be entered and subsequently stored fordisplay in history list 508. Selection of listbox 510 allows a user toselect a time from list 702 (FIG. 7A). Selection button 512 allows auser to select a date displayed in a calendar view 708 (FIG. 7B), whereselection of a date from the calendar view 708 causes the date to appearin field 514. The user may also enter a date directly into field 514.The dates and times may be advantageously used to schedule futureactivities such as a future call, or an appointment set. The history logmay advantageously record a user's use of the contact management screen,list what deal sheet calculations and generations the system hasperformed, and show any saved remarks. In one embodiment, newlygenerated contact management entries are associated with a “new” stageindication. A salesperson may advantageously use view 500 to trackcontact with the client through various contact stages, to documentappointments made, and schedule future contacts. In one embodiment, astatus change will advantageously be recorded in history section 508. Inone embodiment, when the save button is selected, the information fromview 500 is logged into the history section as a separate line showingthe date the entries were made along with the information entered.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of the contact management view fromFIG. 5 in which remarks are entered the field 507 and then stored in thehistory view. When a view button 802 is selected, a deal sheet view 902(FIG. 9) is displayed. When a print button 803 is selected, a deal sheetformatted for printing is displayed.

FIG. 9 illustrates the deal sheet 902. A deal sheet may include some orall of the data displayed in deal sheet or any other suitable data.Thus, a deal sheet showing a different set of data is shown in FIG. 9.For example, FIG. 10 illustrates a view of a deal sheet highlighting theclient's current transaction. Although a particular presentation isillustrated in FIG. 9, a deal sheet may use any suitable presentationand, thus, may be configured to show the data in a variety of ways,whether similar to or not similar to that shown in FIG. 9. A user maybrowse from a displayed deal sheet to the contact management view (FIG.11). For example, after calling a client and discussing the displayeddeal sheet, a salesperson may wish to access the contract managementview to update the current status of the contact management process.

FIG. 12 illustrates an internet browser that has buttons 1201advantageously used to access functions in various embodiments. FIG. 13illustrates an initial log in screen in which a user enters a usernameand password into fields 1201 to gain authorized access to the system.When the user accesses the system, an initial view 1400 isadvantageously displayed as illustrated in FIG. 14. The view 1400advantageously displays the name of the person associated with theusername and password. In the instance illustrated in FIG. 14, theperson is a manager.

Using the view 1400, the manager may customize the data displayed inview by filtering data, sorting data, ordering data, ranking data, orany suitable combination thereof. Although particular parameters areillustrated in FIG. 14, any suitable parameter in the system may be usedas a reference for customization. Entering one or more words into field1401 may be used to limit the displayed data to those including thosewords. For example, if the user wanted to see only entries associatedwith a particular car name, model, make, or year, the user could entersome or all of those into field 1401. Similarly, to view entriesassociated with a client having a particular name, the user could enterthe name into field 1401. Selecting one or more of checkboxes 1402 maybe used to limit the displayed data to a particular combination of saleor transaction types associated with a client, such as a lease, a retailsale, a balloon, or the like. Selecting one or more of checkboxes 1403may be used to limit the displayed contact management entries to acategory of deal sheets associated with a client, such as a sale, analert, an expired alert, a lease ending, or the like. Selecting one ormore of checkboxes 1404 may be used to limit the displayed contactmanagement entries to those at one or more particular stages in thecontact management process, such as where the entry is new, where atelephone call has been made, where an appointment has been made, wherea sale occurred, where no sale occurred, or any other stage suitable formanaging contacts with persons. For example, the user can see all of thenew deal sheets calculated, those that are scheduled to receive a call,appointments set, and so on. Selecting the sort radio buttons 1405 maybe used to sort the data in a variety of ways such as follow up date, byprospect or client, by maturity date as in when the term of the purchaseor lease will expire, and by series of vehicle. Selecting radio buttons1406 may be used to view the data in ascending or descending order.After configuring the filtering, sorting, and ordering functions, thesearch button 1407 may be selected to see data associated with theselected the parameters. For example, FIG. 15A illustrates an example ofsearch criteria, including a particular client name, and FIG. 15Billustrates the results of that search. In one embodiment, to view dataassociated with a particular salesperson, a hyperlink (e.g., hyperlink1408) is selected. The hyperlink may advantageously display the name ofthe salesperson.

Any screens suitable for performing administrative functions may be usedin connection with the system. These screens may be used to maintain andmanage information used to perform the calculations within the system.For example, FIG. 16 illustrates a reports generator screen. Selectinghyperlink 1602 opens an average selling price screen 1701.

Using screen 1702, the user may view a display of costs associated withsome or all of a set of car models. In one embodiment, the set comprisesa set of available car models offered by a particular car dealership(e.g., list 1706). The “active series” designation indicates the serieswhich may be displayed in the display of costs. To move one or moreseries from one series box to the other, the series may be selected andthe appropriate single-arrow button pressed. The double-arrows buttonsare for selecting and moving all items from one series box to the other.Checkboxes 1710 may be used to select the data to be displayed,including but not limited to a series or model identifier, a replacementseries identifier, a base price, a delivery charge, a sunroof package,automatic transmission, metallic paint, other costs associated with thefinancing or price of automotive-related features, or any other suitablecosts. A submit button 1714 is selected to display the data in a report1802 (FIG. 18), which may advantageously be used to evaluate the averageselling price information the system uses to calculate the deal sheets.In one embodiment, the average selling price information the system usesto calculate the deal sheets may be edited or entered manually.Accordingly, the report 1802 advantageously allows a person to reviewthe average selling price information used by the system determinewhether to edit that information.

Referring to FIG. 16, selecting hyperlink 1604 opens a bank rate screen1902 (FIG. 19). Using screen 1902, the user may view a display offinancing rates associated with some or all of a set of car models. The“active series” designation indicate the series which may be displayedin the display of financing rates. To move one or more series from oneseries box to the other, the series may be selected and the appropriatesingle-arrow button pressed. The double-arrows buttons are for selectingand moving all items from one series box to the other. In oneembodiment, the set comprises a set of available car models offered by aparticular car dealership (e.g., list 1908). In one embodiment, the usermay limit the financing rates displayed to those rates offered by one ormore financial institutions. For example, listbox 1912 may be used toselect a financial institution. In response to selecting button 1916 Asubmit button 1912 is selected to display the data in a report 2002(FIG. 20), which may advantageously evaluate the financing rates used inthe system. The report 2002 advantageously may include financing rateinformation, including a model identifier, the duration of the term, amoney factor, a residual percentage, and MRM. A model identifier may beadvantageously used to associate a rate residual with a particular modelbecause rates and residuals may vary by model. The duration of the termis the length of the agreement. The money factor comprises a leasinginterest rate or APR of the lease. The residual percentage comprises theportion of the original selling price that the financing company expectsthe product to be worth at the end of the lease or purchase. MRM is amaximum residual amount used that may be used for calculating payoffs.

Referring to FIG. 16, selecting hyperlink 1606 opens a mailing listscreen 2102 (FIG. 21). Using screen 2102, the user may view a display ofclient-related, contact information associated with some or all of a setof clients. In an embodiment where sets of clients are associated withone or more salespersons, the display of the client-related, contactinformation may be displayed for one or more selected salespersons. The“active sales associate” designation indicate the sales associates whichmay be displayed in the display of the client-related, contactinformation. To move one or more sales associates from one salesassociates box to the other, the sales associates may be selected andthe appropriate single-arrow button pressed. The double-arrows buttonsare for selecting and moving all items from one sales associates box tothe other. Selecting one or more checkboxes may limit thecolumn-displayed, client-related, contact information to particularparameters, including but not limited to names, organization name,addresses, city, state, zip, home telephone, work telephone, mobiletelephone, or the like. Selecting one or more checkboxes may limit thedisplayed client-related contact information to a category of dealsheets associated with a client, such as a sale, an alert, an expiredalert, a lease ending, or the like. Selecting one or more checkboxes maylimit the displayed client-related contact information to those at oneor more particular stages in the contact management process, such aswhere the entry is new, where a telephone call has been made, where anappointment has been made, where a sale occurred, where no saleoccurred, or any other stage suitable for managing contacts withpersons. A submit button 2116 is selected to display the data in areport 2202 (FIG. 22), which may advantageously to view list of theclient-related, contact information.

Referring to FIG. 16, selecting hyperlink 1608 opens a salespersonscreen 2302 (FIG. 23). Using screen 2302, the user may view a display ofinformation associated with some or all of a set of salespersons.Selecting one or more checkboxes may limit the column-displayedsalesperson information, which may include but is not limited to asalesperson identifier, a username, a password, an email address, or thelike. A submit button 2316 is selected to display the data in a report2402 (FIG. 24), which may advantageously to review a display of thesalesperson information.

Referring to FIG. 16, selecting hyperlink 1610 opens a subsidy screen2502 (FIG. 25). Using screen 2502, the user may view a display ofinformation associated with subsidies (e.g., rebates, discounts,promotions, or the like) associated with some or all of a set of carmodels. The “active series” designation indicate the series which may bedisplayed in the display of financing rates. To move one or more seriesfrom one series box to the other, the series may be selected and theappropriate single-arrow button pressed. The double-arrows buttons arefor selecting and moving all items from one series box to the other. Inone embodiment, the set comprises a set of available car models offeredby a particular car dealership (e.g., list 2508). A submit button 2516is selected to display the data in a report 2602 (FIG. 26), which mayadvantageously to assess one or more models and any associatedsubsidies. In one embodiment, the system uses the subsidies to createdeal sheets.

Referring to FIG. 16, selecting hyperlink 1612 opens a task stage bytask owner screen 2702 (FIG. 27). Using screen 2702, the user may view adisplay of contact management task information associated with some orall of a set of task owners (e.g., a salesperson). In an embodimentwhere set tasks are associated with one or more salespersons, thedisplay of the task information may be displayed for one or moreselected salespersons. The “active sales associate” designation indicatethe sales associates which may be displayed in the display of theclient-related, contact information. To move one or more salesassociates from one sales associates box to the other, the salesassociates may be selected and the appropriate single-arrow buttonpressed. The double-arrows buttons are for selecting and moving allitems from one sales associates box to the other. Selecting one or morecheckboxes may limit the task information to a category of deal sheets,such as a sale, an alert, an expired alert, a lease ending, or the like.Selecting one or more checkboxes may limit the task information columnsdisplayed to those at one or more particular stages in the contactmanagement process, such as where the entry is new, where a telephonecall has been made, where an appointment has been made, where a saleoccurred, where no sale occurred, or any other stage suitable formanaging contacts with persons. In an embodiment where the taskinformation is associated with a particular date, a range of one or moredates may be entered into one or more of the start field and finishfield using any suitable method, including but not limited to manualentry or using calendar buttons in a manner substantially similar tothat described above with respect to calendar view 708 (FIG. 7B) andfield 514 (FIG. 5). A submit button 2716 is selected to display the taskinformation in a report 2802 (FIG. 28). As illustrated in FIG. 28,report 2802 advantageously displays each selected salesperson with atotal number of tasks for the sales person, a subtotal of tasks at eachparticular stage for the sales person, and an associated percentagerelative to the total number of tasks for the particular stage and salesperson. In one embodiment, report 2802 may include totals by anysuitable group, including by division, type of sales, organization, orthe like.

Referring to FIG. 16, selecting hyperlink 1616 opens a trade-in historyscreen 2902 (FIG. 29). Using screen 2902, the user may view a history oftrade-in values associated with some or all of a set of car models. The“active series” designation indicate the series which may be displayedin the display of financing rates. To move one or more series from oneseries box to the other, the series may be selected and the appropriatesingle-arrow button pressed. The double-arrows buttons are for selectingand moving all items from one series box to the other. In oneembodiment, the set of car models comprises a set of car models acceptedas a trade-in by a particular car dealership (e.g., list 2908). The usermay view a history of trade-in values associated with some or all of aset of dates. The “active trade-in date” designation indicate thetrade-in dates which may be displayed in the display of financing rates.To move one or more trade-in dates from one trade-in dates box to theother, the trade-in dates may be selected and the appropriatesingle-arrow button pressed. The double-arrows buttons are for selectingand moving all items from one trade-in dates box to the other. In oneembodiment, the set of dates comprises a set of dates on which aparticular car dealership accepted particular models accepted as atrade-in (e.g., list 2916). Selecting one or more checkboxes may limitthe column-displayed trade-in information, which may include but is notlimited to a vehicle identification number, the trade-in amount, anauction price, and a dealer adjustment. The dealer adjustments are thosefigures where the dealer can actually make changes to the average tradein value. These values are subsequently put into and become part of thecalculations. A submit button 2924 is selected to display the +information in a report 3002 (FIG. 30), which may be used to evaluatethe trade-in values used by the system. In one embodiment, a trade-invalue, adjustment, or other parameter value associated with a particularcurrent product may be manually altered (e.g., receive user input) tocustomize that parameter value. In one embodiment, any parameter valueassociated with a particular replacement product may be manually altered(e.g., receive user input) to customize that parameter value.

FIG. 31 illustrates an embodiment wherein money factor, residualpercentage, or both may be altered for one or more replacement productsand for one or more suitable replacement agreement terms (e.g., 36months, 48 months, 60 months, or the like). Accordingly, a person mayenter suitable values to update such values in the system. In oneembodiment, these changes are advantageously reflected in view 2002(FIG. 20).

FIG. 32 illustrates an embodiment wherein money factor, residualpercentage, both may be altered for one or more replacement products.Accordingly, a person may enter suitable values to update such values inthe system. In one embodiment, these changes are advantageouslyreflected in view 2602 (FIG. 26).

FIG. 33 illustrates a display of contact management related activitiesfor one or more accounts (e.g., a house account, a salesperson account,or the like), a group of one or more accounts, or both.

FIG. 34 illustrates one embodiment in which internal data, externaldata, and historical data are used to generate one or more alerts. Theexternal data comprises trade-in data, payoff amount data, money factordata, and residual data. The internal data comprises rebates andadjustments, average selling price data, and sales effort results data.Management reports, alert lists, and deal sheets are advantageouslyprovided. Further, a sales associate may access the system via a salesassociate interface and a manager may access the system from aninterface.

FIG. 35 illustrates an embodiment of a deal sheet. As illustrated inFIG. 35, deal sheet may have one, two, three, or more types ofagreements (e.g., lease, balloon, retail purchase, or the like).Further, different types of agreements may have the same or differentsets of parameters displayed in the deal sheet.

In one embodiment, a server computer collects information advantageouslyused to assess the potential replacement agreement, including but notlimited to automobile trade-in values. The server computer may reside inany suitable location, including but not limited to a location remotefrom a dealership.

In one embodiment, when a client with a current agreement visits adealership, information sufficient to identify the client is provided tothe system. For example, in one embodiment, the current product'svehicle identification number is entered into the system. In response, adeal sheet or an alert sheet associated with the client's currentagreement may advantageously be created. In one embodiment, anotification is automatically sent to one or more persons at thedealership. Thus, persons at a dealership may proactively offer theclient with potential replacement agreements. For example, in oneembodiment, when a client visits a dealership for car maintenance, a carmaintenance system may automatically communicate with the system togenerate a notification to a salesperson.

In some embodiments, a replacement product may comprise one or moreautomobiles among the dealership's new or pre-owned inventory. a new caroffered by a manufacturer, or an automobile from any other suitableprovider.

In some instances, the lease or contract-ending customers mayadvantageously be directed to a contract-ending specialist who canadjust the parameters on the remaining months left.

In one embodiment, a manager or sales representative may advantageouslyadjust the rebates and finance parameters to change when a deal sheet isconsidered an alert. Thus, a person may try various scenarios and viewthe results. For example, if an automobile dealership is considering a$1,000 rebate for a certain model of automobile, a manager could enterthe $1,000 rebate into the system and then evaluate the number of newalerts generated by this rebate. Similarly, the manager could view theresults from altering the interest rate, money factor, or any othersuitable parameter associated with an alert.

In one embodiment, the alerts will be integrated into an enterprisesoftware system that tracks client-customer contact, facilitatesoutreach, facilitates follow through, or the like. For example, in oneembodiment, the alerts are integrated into a Customer RelationshipManager system that will function with one or more aspects of the dailyworking of an automotive dealership to include sales representatives,business development centers, call centers, lease terminationdepartments, managers, finance departments and service departments.Thus, interaction with various aspects of these systems mayadvantageously trigger a notification of a potential replacementcontract. For example, when a call center receives a call from theclient, the call center's system would preferably access the alertaspects of the system and, if an alert was associated with the client,the call center's system would be automatically notified. In oneembodiment, a person may be notified of new alerts, lease endings, orthe like via a pop-up screen, an email, or the like. In one embodiment,a person may be notified of new alerts, lease endings, or the like via awireless transmitter (e.g., PDA, cellular phone), a wired transmission(e.g., telephone), or any suitable method. Any suitable person mayreceive such notifications.

In some embodiments, the system uses internal data, external data, orboth. In one embodiment, the internal data comprises rebates,adjustments, average selling prices, historical sales data. In oneembodiment, the external data comprises trade-in values, payoff values,money factors, and residual. In one embodiment, alerts are provided toany suitable person, including but not limited to outbound marketers(e.g., telephone or the like), salespersons, managers, or the like.

In some embodiments, additional fees (e.g., license fee, bankacquisition fee, or the like) may be required in addition to thereplacement product payments. In some embodiments, the paymentscalculated for a replacement product includes fees (e.g., deliverycharge, fuel-economy tax) related to the replacement agreement. Thereplacement product may have any suitable combination of featuresfinanced in its payment. In one embodiment, the replacement productincludes a set of predetermined features. In one embodiment, a set ofpredetermined features includes automatic transmission, sunroof package,and metallic paint.

In one embodiment, a current product is associated in the system withone or more replacement products. Accordingly, when the system executesa process to generate a deal sheet, the system determines the one ormore replacement products associated with the current product anddisplays a deal sheet for those one or more replacement products.Associations may be made in any suitable manner, including but notlimited to a database, a data file, or the like. In one embodiment, aparticular make, model, and year of an automobile may be associated withone or more other combinations of make, model, and year. In thisembodiment, when the system executes a process to generate a deal sheet,the system identifies the make, model, and year of the current productand display a deal sheet with associated combinations of make, model,and year. In one embodiment, these associations are entered manuallyinto the system for general use (e.g., a manager determines thatcustomers generally would accept particular types of replacementproducts for certain types of current products). Any suitable way ofdetermining what replacement products to display may be used. Forexample, where a client requests a particular make, model, and year, thesystem may advantageously receive that particular make, model, and yearand display a corresponding deal sheet. Although automobiles may becategorized using make, model, series, class, year, or the like, anysuitable category, classification, or grouping of automobile may be usedto create associations for a client's current automobile and areplacement automobile. Further, for current products or replacementproducts, any category, classification, or grouping may be used toassociation current products with replacement products.

In one embodiment, when the system executes a process to generate a dealsheet (e.g., for an alert), the system identifies one or morereplacement products associated with the current product and determineswhether a payment associated with the replacement agreements is lessthan or equal to a certain threshold percentage value relative to apayment associated with the current agreement. For example, in oneembodiment where the threshold percentage value is 10 percent, if aclient leases a first automobile at $500 a month and a second associatedautomobile is available for lease at $550 a month, the system wouldgenerate an alert because the second automobile's payment is within 10%.Any suitable threshold percentage value may be used. In one embodiment,the threshold value is 5%. The threshold percentage value may be betweenand including 3% and 10%. Of course, the threshold percentage value maybe at or about any suitable value. Further, this comparison of paymentsmay be used to generate an alert alone, in combination with associationsamong products within the system, or in combination with any othersuitable parameters. Further, alerts may be generated without referenceto a comparison of payments.

In one embodiment, a local distributor tracks the identity of a personthat sold the client the current product, and the system uses thatinformation to route one or more alerts related to that client's currentproduct to the person. In one embodiment, any suitable person mayreceive an alert.

As will be apparent to a skilled artisan in light of the foregoingdisclosure, the system disclosed herein perform a number of usefulprocesses for alerting a dealership when a customer can be offered a newand advantageous lease or other financial arrangement. Advantageously,providing such information to a dealership in a timely fashion can drivea significant number of sales and leasing arrangements for a dealership.Accordingly, embodiments as described herein allow for the automatedperformance of a number of processes that can significantly increasedealership profits. Embodiments of such processes are described belowwith regard to FIGS. 36 through 38.

FIG. 36 illustrates a process of alerting a dealership when a customercan be offered a new lease or other financial arrangement. Such aprocess 3600 commences with a block 3610. In the block 3610, the process3600 retrieves customer information, financing information, and productinformation. Preferably, such customer information and financinginformation includes information about any leases or other financialarrangements that each customer is already involved in, along withinformation about financial arrangements currently available fromfinancial institutions. Accordingly, such information provides a basisfor allowing the process 3600 to compare current financial arrangementswith potential financial arrangements to determine whether a customercan switch to an advantageous financial arrangement. In one embodiment,an automated information retrieval module, such as the informationretrieval module 3930 of FIG. 39, automatically retrieves the customerand financial information from various electronic sources, such as, forexample, public and private web pages, databases maintained by adealership, external databases, and the like. A number of techniques forautomatically retrieving such information are known to skilled artisansand can be employed to implement the information retrieval module 3930.

In a block 3620, the process 3600 compares each customer's currentfinancial terms with potential financial terms being offered byfinancial institutions. Preferably, the comparison block 3620 takes intoaccount all available financial variables that affect whether a customercan advantageously switch financial arrangements, including, forexample, interest rates, payoff periods, amount due on the currentfinancial arrangement, any dealer or manufacturer incentives currentlyavailable, and the like. The foregoing list of financial variables isexemplary and non-exhaustive; a skilled artisan will appreciate, inlight of this disclosure, other financial variables that are relevant,under some circumstances, for determining whether a customer canadvantageously switch financial arrangements. In one embodiment, afinancial terms comparison module, such as the financial termscomparison module 3935 of FIG. 39, performs the processing of the block3620.

In a block 3630, the process 3600 generates, based on the comparison ofthe block 3620, a number of alerts to inform a dealership that acustomer can advantageously switch financial arrangements. In oneembodiment, the process 3600 generates an alert whenever the differencebetween the amount that a customer will pay for a new but comparablefinancial arrangement as compared to the customer's current financialarrangement is below a threshold value. For example, in one embodiment,the process 3600 generates an alert whenever the difference in paymentamount is less 10%, such that, for example, an alert is generated when anew payment amount would be $540 and a current payment amount is $500.Alternatively, the process 3600 can be configured to generate an alertonly when the difference between a new payment amount and a currentpayment amount is negative; that is, when the new payment amount is lessthan the current payment amount. A skilled artisan will appreciate, inlight of this disclosure, that a wide variety of thresholds can be setdepending on the particular types of sales opportunities that a dealerwants to know about. In one embodiment, the processing of the block 3630is performed by the financial terms comparison module 3935.Alternatively, as will be apparent to a skilled artisan, the processingof the block 3630 can be performed by a separate module, such as, forexample, an alert generation module.

In a block 3640, the process 3600 transmits the generated alerts to adealership. Advantageously, the transmission of alerts informs thedealership of sales opportunities that may provide to the dealership asignificant opportunity to boost profits. As will be apparent from thedescription of the system provided above, the alerts can be transmittedby email, pager, web page, database record, fax, or any other knownmethod of transmitting electronic data. In one embodiment, theprocessing of the block 3640 is performed by an alert transmissionmodule, such as, for example, the alert transmission module 3940 of FIG.39.

Though additional blocks are not illustrated by FIG. 36, it will beapparent to a skilled artisan in light of this disclosure that thedealer can invoke additional processing of the alerts once the dealerhas received the alerts. For example, the dealer can invoke the contactmanagement and task management functions as have been described herein.Accordingly, in addition to alerting the dealer, embodiments of thesystem can perform a number of processes for managing alerts.Advantageously, such alert management provides dealers an effective wayto follow up with each alert in a way that maximized the dealer'schances to convert an alert of a potential sale into an actual sale.

FIG. 37 illustrates another embodiment of a process of alerting adealership when a customer can be offered a new lease or other financialarrangement. In this embodiment, in a block 3710, the process 3700receives at least one modified financial variable. For example, in oneembodiment, the process 3700 may receive a financial variable thatindicates that a dealer rebate has increased from $500 to $1,000.

Based on the new information, the process 3700 executes much of the sameprocessing that was explained with regard to FIG. 36 in order togenerate alerts that take into account the newly entered information.Advantageously, therefore, the process 3700 can be used by a dealer toanswer questions such as “How many customers could be switched to a newfinancial arrangement if we increase the dealer incentive to $1,000?” Inone embodiment, the modified financial variables received in the block3710 are received by an automated process such as the informationretrieval module 3930. In another embodiment, the modified variables areentered manually using a data entry module, such as, for example, thedata entry module 3925 of FIG. 39. Advantageously, allowing for manualentry allows for great flexibility in allowing a dealership to changevariables over which the dealership has control in order to determinewhether new sales opportunities can be generated.

As indicated, the process 3700 performs much of the same processing thatis performed by the process 3600. In a block 3720, the process 3700compares current financial terms to potential financial terms,substantially as explained with respect to the block 3620. In a block3730, the process 3700 generates alerts, substantially as explained withrespect to the block 3630. In a block 3740, the process 3700 transmitsthe alerts, substantially as explained with respect to the block 3640.

Advantageously, one embodiment of the system can be used to determine,in real time, whether a deal can be presented to a customer, while thecustomer is, for example, in a dealership showroom. FIG. 38 illustratessuch a process for detecting and presenting a deal to a customer inreal-time. The process 3800 commences, in a block 3810, to receive apotential customer identification. In one embodiment, a potentialcustomer identification, such as, for example, a customer number, can beentered manually into the system using the data entry module 3925. In ablock 3820, the process 3800 retrieves the potential customer'sfinancial information in real-time. In a block 3830, the process 3800compares the current financial terms of the financial arrangementsassociated with the identified potential customer with potentialfinancial terms for comparable financial arrangements, substantially asexplained with regard to the block 3620. In a block 3840, the process3800 generates alerts, substantially as explained with regard to theblock 3630. In a block 3850, the process 3800 transmits the alerts,substantially as explained with regard to the block 3640. In a block3860, the dealership uses the transmitted alert to present a deal to thepotential customer. Advantageously, the entire process 3800 occurs whilethe potential customer is still in the presence of the dealer, givingthe dealer a higher probability to derive increased sales based on thealerts.

FIG. 39 illustrates a financial terms alert generation system attachedto a computer network, according to one embodiment of the systemdescribed herein. A financial terms alert generation system 3905comprises financing information 3910, customer information 3915, productinformation 3920, a data entry module 3925, an information retrievalmodule 3930, a financial terms comparison module 3935, and an alerttransmission module 3940. The financial terms alert generation system3905 is preferably connected, via a computer network 3945, to externalfinancing information 3950, external customer information 3955, externalproduct information 3960, and at least one dealer terminal 3965. In someembodiments, the financing information 3910, customer information 3915,and product information 3920 does not exist permanently within thefinancial terms alert generation system, but is retrieved from externalsources 3950, 3955, and 3960, as needed. In other embodiments, at leastportions of the financing information 3910, the customer information3915, and product information 3920 is stored permanently within thefinancial terms alert generation system 3905 to provide local storageand caching of data. A skilled artisan will appreciate, in light of thisdisclosure, that the illustrated storage and modules can be distributedacross multiple network hosts rather than being centralized in onelocation.

In one embodiment, the data entry module 3925 is configured to receiveinput from a user to enter or modify data stored in the financinginformation 3910, the customer information 3915, the product information3920, the external financing information 3950, the external customerinformation 3955, or the external product information 3960. In general,the data entry module 3925 is not used for a large percentage of dataentry, because the information retrieval module 3930 generallyautomatically retrieves information from sources available on thenetwork 3945. However, advantageously the data entry module 3925provides a manual tool for entering data for cases in which a userdesires to fine tune the information stored in the databases. Forexample, in certain cases, a dealership may have special incentiveprograms that are not captured in sources available on the network 3945,and a dealer may want to manually enter data that takes such specialincentive programs into account.

In one embodiment, the information retrieval module 3930 is configuredto automatically retrieve information about products, customers, andfinancing from sources available on the network 3945, such as, forexample, from the external financing information 3950, the externalcustomer information 3955, and the external product information 3960.Upon retrieving such information from sources available on the network3945, the information retrieval module 3930 makes the informationavailable to the financial terms alert generation system 3905, such thatthe system 3905 can use the information in order to perform thecalculations necessary to determine whether a customer canadvantageously enter a new lease or purchase transaction. For example,in one embodiment, the information retrieval module 3930 stores theretrieved information in local storage accessible to the financial termsalert generation system 3905, such as by storing the information in thefinancing information 3910, the customer information 3915, and theproduct information 3920. Alternatively or additionally, the informationretrieval module 3930 can store the information in memory rather than inlocal storage. A skilled artisan will appreciate, in light of thisdisclosure, a variety of techniques for retrieving information fromsources available on the network 3945, including, for example, byscraping public websites. In light of these known techniques, a skilledartisan will readily understand, in light of this disclosure, how toimplement the information retrieval module 3930.

As previously described, embodiments of the system and method describedherein determine when a customer is able to enter into a new financialarrangement under financial terms that are favorable to the customer. Inmany cases, financial terms that are favorable to a customer are thosein which the customer will pay less under a new arrangement than underan old arrangement. However, in certain cases, a customer may find termsfavorable to the customer even when the customer will pay more under thenew arrangement. For example, in certain cases, a customer may want to“buy up,” or purchase a product with a higher level of quality ofluxury. Accordingly, embodiments of the system and method describedherein allow a dealer to determine financial arrangements that areavailable to a customer in such a “buy up” situation. In certainembodiments, for example, a dealer selects, using, for example, apull-down menu, a class of products that a customer potentially desiresto buy. For example, with respect to cars, a dealer may select a modelof car, such as a Mercedes-Benz C class, or a Mercedes-Benz E class.FIG. 40 illustrates an example screen shot in which a dealer may makesuch a selection. Upon receiving such a selection, embodiments of thesystem determine new financial arrangements that are available to thecustomer for that class of product. Advantageously, the dealer can usesuch information to present the customer with an offer to “buy up” to ahigher quality product.

Similarly, embodiments of the system and method allow a dealer to selecta lower class of product to find out about opportunities for thecustomer to “buy down,” or purchase a lower class product in order tosave money. In certain embodiments, such “buy up” or “buy down”inquiries are limited to products from the same manufacturer as aproduct that the customer currently owns or is leasing. In otherembodiments, such “buy up” or “buy down” inquiries can includemanufacturers that are different from the manufacturer of a product thatthe customer currently owns or is leasing.

Advantageously, by automatically retrieving a large amount ofinformation relating to products, customers, and financing, theinformation retrieval module 3930 contributes to the ability of thefinancial terms alert generation system 3905 to generate a large amountof alerts regarding financing opportunities in a timely fashion suchthat dealers can be informed of such opportunities in time to convertmany such opportunities into sales. Advantageously, the automationprovided by the information retrieval module 3930 also allows forperiodic alert generation based on up-to-date information. Accordingly,the financial terms alert generation system 3905 can generate alertswhenever new information is retrieved by the information retrievalmodule 3930 that affects whether customers are able to advantageouslyenter a new lease or purchase transaction.

In one embodiment, the financial terms comparison module 3935 performscomparisons and calculations necessary to determine whether a customeris able to advantageously enter a new lease or purchase transaction. Inone mode of operation, the financial terms comparison module 3935performs batch comparisons periodically. In another mode of operation,the financial terms comparison module 3935 performs batch comparisonswhenever new information is added to any one or more of the financinginformation 3910, the customer information 3915, or the productinformation 3920. In another mode of operation, the financial termscomparison module 3935 performs a comparison for a particular identifiedcustomer and returns results of such a comparison in real time. Whenoperating in this mode, the financial terms comparison module 3935 canadvantageously lead to the generation of an alert in real time while,for example, a customer is in a dealership showroom. Advantageously, thefinancial terms comparison module 3935, in one embodiment, is configuredto be able to perform comparisons and calculations in any one or more ofthe above-described modes of operation, such that the most advantageousmode of operation under the circumstances can be chosen.

Preferably, the financial terms comparison module 3935 compares eachcustomer's current financial arrangements with potential financialarrangements for similar products in order to determine whether areplacement arrangement can be entered into on more favorable or almostas favorable terms. To perform such calculations and comparisons, thefinancial terms comparison module 3935 employs the comparison methodsteps and calculation formulas as are described herein above. Uponperforming the calculations and comparisons, the financial termscomparison module 3935 generates information for an alert to a customerwhenever a favorable replacement financial arrangement can be had.

In one embodiment, the alert transmission module 3940 receives alertinformation generated by the financial terms comparison module 3935 andtransmits the alerts to a dealer. In one embodiment, the alerttransmission module 3940 transmits the alerts to a dealer terminal 3965via email. Alternatively or additionally, the alert transmission module3940 can be configured to transmit alerts via pager, telephone, faxtransmission, a webpage accessible to the dealer terminal 3965, or anyother known mechanism for communicating information using electronicdevices. In one embodiment, the alert transmission module 3965 isconfigured to transmit an alert to the dealer terminal 3965 in realtime, such that the dealer receives the alert, for example, while acustomer is still in a dealership showroom. Such real time alertgeneration and transmission can be advantageously employed to generatean alert for each customer that comes into a dealership's servicedepartment. That is, whenever, the customer brings a product to beserviced, the dealership can quickly run a comparison and generate anyalerts, as applicable, to determine whether the customer canadvantageously enter into a new lease or purchase transaction. If thecustomer can enter into such a transaction under favorable terms, thedealer can use the information from the alert to make an offer to thecustomer while the customer is in the service department.Advantageously, this usage of the financial terms alert generationsystem 3905 can lead to a substantial increase in sales, as it has beenfound that at any given time, approximately eight percent of customerscan enter new loans or leases on favorable terms. Advantageously, thefinancial terms alert generation system 3905 identifies a largepercentage of those customers that can enter new loans or leases onfavorable terms.

Although the system is disclosed with reference to preferredembodiments, the invention is not limited to the preferred embodimentsonly. Rather, a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosureherein a wide number of alternatives for the system. Unless indicatedotherwise, it may be assumed that the process steps described herein areimplemented within one or more modules, including logic embodied inhardware or firmware, or a collection of software instructions, possiblyhaving entry and exit points, written in a programming language, suchas, for example C++. A software module may be compiled and linked intoan executable program, installed in a dynamic link library, or may bewritten in an interpretive language such as BASIC. It will beappreciated that software modules may be callable from other modules orfrom themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events orinterrupts. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such asan EPROM or EEPROM. It will be further appreciated that hardware modulesmay be comprised of connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops,and/or may be comprised of programmable units, such as programmable gatearrays or processors. The modules described herein are preferablyimplemented as software modules, but may be represented in hardware orfirmware. The software modules may be executed by one or more generalpurpose computers. The software modules may be stored on or within anysuitable computer-readable medium. The data described herein may bestored in one or more suitable mediums, including but not limited to acomputer-readable medium. The data described herein may be stored in oneor more suitable formats, including but not limited to a data file, adatabase, an expert system, or the like.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in terms of certainpreferred embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art from the disclosure herein. For example,although described in the context of automobiles, any good or serviceassociated with a series of one or more payments may be used withembodiments of the invention. Thus, any good or service, whether relatedto automobiles or unrelated to automobiles, is contemplated.Accordingly, the concepts represented herein may apply to any consumeror commercial good that is financed or leased over time, such asaircraft, heavy equipment, high tech equipment, or the like. Further,although particular make, models, and other automobile-specificinformation is described, any make, model, or other information may beused. Also, any use related to vehicles or unrelated to vehicles may beused. Additionally, other combinations, omissions, substitutions andmodifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of thedisclosure herein. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited tothe preferred embodiments. Rather, the claims that follow define theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for a user to determine potentialcustomers of a vehicle to contact, the method comprising: determining,using a computing device, a customer whose vehicle is either scheduledfor vehicle service or that is currently at a location for vehicleservice; determining one or more first vehicles that are existing andcurrently available to the user that the user can offer to potentialcustomers; identifying, using a computing device, one of the firstvehicles that is a similar make and model as the customer vehicle;receiving, by a computing device, customer information and marketinformation wherein said market information includes an estimated marketvalue for the customer vehicle and at least one of an interest rate, amanufacturer's incentive that is available for the first vehicle, and asales price of the first vehicle; generating, by a computing device, areport if the first vehicle is of the similar make and model as thecustomer vehicle, such report including the customer information and anestimated proposal for the first vehicle based at least in part on saidestimated market value of the customer vehicle and the marketinformation; and determining that the customer is a potential customerto contact regarding the first vehicle based on said report.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein identifying further comprises identifying,using the computing device, whether the customer vehicle is at least oneof a same make or a same model as the first vehicle.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining, using a computing device, avariance amount between a current monthly vehicle payment or leaseamount for the customer vehicle and an estimated monthly purchase orlease payment for the first vehicle and, wherein generating the reportfurther comprises generating the report, such report additionallycomprising the variance amount.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining, using a computing device, the estimated marketvalue for the customer vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereindetermining the estimated market value further comprises determining,using the computing device, the estimated market value for the customervehicle based at least in part on service information associated withthe customer vehicle indicating a present condition of the customervehicle.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, usinga computing device, an equity amount in the customer vehicle based onthe estimated market value and current vehicle financing informationand, wherein generating the report further comprises generating thereport, such report additionally comprising the equity amount.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising contacting the potential customerregarding the first vehicle on the report while the customer iscurrently at the location for the vehicle service.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein contacting further comprises contacting the potentialcustomer with at least one of a vehicle sales proposal or a vehiclelease proposal related to the first vehicle while the customer iscurrently at the location for the vehicle service.
 9. An apparatus for auser to determine which potential customers of a vehicle to contact, theapparatus comprising: a computing platform having at least one processorand a memory in communication with the processor; and a customermarketing module stored in the memory, executable by the processor andconfigured to: determine a customer whose vehicle is either scheduledfor vehicle service or that is currently at a location for vehicleservice; determine one or more first vehicles that are existing andcurrently available to the user that the user desires to offer topotential customers; identify at least one of the first vehicles that issimilar make and model to the customer vehicle; receive customerinformation and market information wherein said market informationincludes an estimated market value for the customer vehicle and at leastone of an interest rate, a manufacturer's incentive that is availablefor the first vehicle, and a sales price of the first vehicles; andgenerate a report if the first vehicle is of the similar make and modelas the customer vehicle, such report including the customer informationand an estimated proposal for the first vehicle based at least in parton said estimated market value of the customer vehicle and the marketinformation, wherein the report is a basis for determining that thecustomer is a potential customer to contact regarding the first vehicle.10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the customer marketing module isfurther configured to identify whether the customer vehicle is at leastone of a same make or a same model as the first vehicle.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the customer marketing module is furtherconfigured to (1) determine a variance amount between a current monthlyvehicle payment of lease amount for the customer vehicle and anestimated monthly purchase or lease payment for the first vehicle and(2) generating the report, such report additionally comprising thevariance amount.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the customermarketing module is further configured to determine the estimated marketvalue for the customer vehicle.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, whereinthe customer marketing module is further configured to determine theestimated market value based at least in part on service informationassociated with the customer vehicle indicating a present condition ofthe customer vehicle.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the customermarketing module is further configured to (1) determine an equity amountin the customer vehicle based on the estimated market value and currentvehicle financing information and (2) generate the report, such reportadditionally comprising the equity amount.
 15. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the customer marketing module is further configured to generatethe report, wherein the report is a basis for determining that thecustomer is a potential customer to contact regarding the first vehiclewhile the customer is currently at the location for the vehicle service.16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the customer marketing module isfurther configured to contact the potential customer with at least oneof a vehicle sales proposal or a vehicle lease proposal related to thefirst vehicle while the customer is currently at the location for thevehicle service.
 17. A computer program product that includes atangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having sets of codesfor causing a computer processor to perform the following steps:determining a customer whose vehicle is either scheduled for vehicleservice or that is currently at a location for vehicle service;determining one or more first vehicles that are existing and currentlyavailable to the user that the user desires to offer to potentialcustomers; identifying at least one of the first vehicles that issimilar make and model to the customer vehicle; determining an estimatedtrade-in value for the customer vehicle based on service informationassociated with the customer vehicle indicating an estimated presentcondition of the customer vehicle; receiving customer information andmarket information wherein said market information includes an estimatedmarket value for the customer vehicle and at least one of an interestrate, a manufacturer's incentive that is available for the firstvehicles, and a sales price of the first vehicles; and generating areport if the first vehicle is of the similar make and model as thecustomer vehicle, such report including the customer information and anestimated proposal for the first vehicle based at least in part on saidestimated market value of the customer vehicle and the marketinformation, wherein the report is a basis for determining that thecustomer is a potential customer to contact regarding the first vehicle.18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the step ofidentifying further comprises identifying whether the customer vehicleis at least one of a same make or a same model as the first vehicle. 19.The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the steps furthercomprise determining a variance amount between a current monthly vehiclepayment or lease amount for the customer vehicle and an estimatedmonthly purchase or lease payment for the first vehicle and, wherein thestep of generating the report further comprises generating the report,such report additionally comprising the variance amount.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 17, wherein the steps further includedetermining the estimated market value for the customer vehicle.
 21. Thecomputer program product of claim 20, wherein the steps further includedetermining the estimated market value for the customer vehicle based atleast in part on service information associated with the customervehicle indicating a present condition of the customer vehicle.
 22. Thecomputer program product of claim 17, wherein the steps further comprisedetermining an equity amount in the customer vehicle based on anestimated market value and current vehicle financing information and,wherein the step of generating the report further comprises generatingthe report, such report additionally comprising the equity amount. 23.The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the step of generatingfurther comprises generating the report, wherein the report is a basisfor determining that the customer is a potential customer to contactregarding the first vehicle while the customer is currently at thelocation for the vehicle service.
 24. The computer program product ofclaim 23, wherein the steps further comprise contacting the potentialcustomer with at least one of a vehicle sales proposal or a vehiclelease proposal related to the first vehicle while the customer iscurrently at the location for the vehicle service.
 25. A methodcomprising: determining, using a computing device, a customer whosevehicle is at a location for vehicle service; determining one or morefirst vehicles that the user can offer to potential customers;identifying, using a computing device, a replacement vehicle from amongthe first vehicles, wherein said identifying is based on an associationbetween the replacement vehicle and the customer vehicle; receiving, bya computing device, customer information and financial informationwherein said financial information includes a trade-in value for thecustomer vehicle and at least one of an interest rate, a manufacturer'sincentive that is available for the replacement vehicle, and a sellingprice of the replacement vehicle; generating, by a computing device, adeal sheet including the customer information and estimated financialterms for the replacement vehicle based at least in part on the trade-invalue of the customer vehicle and the financial information; anddetermining that the customer is a potential customer to contactregarding the first vehicle based on said deal sheet.
 26. The method ofclaim 25, wherein identifying further comprises identifying, using thecomputing device, whether the customer vehicle is at least one of a samemake or a same model as the replacement vehicle.
 27. The method of claim25, further comprising determining, using a computing device, an amountof difference between a current payment associated with the customervehicle and an estimated payment for the replacement vehicle, whereinthe deal sheet additionally comprises the amount of difference.
 28. Themethod of claim 25, further comprising determining, using a computingdevice, a trade-in value for the customer vehicle.
 29. The method ofclaim 28, wherein determining the trade-in value further comprisesdetermining, using a computing device, the trade-in value for thecustomer vehicle based at least in part on an assumed condition ormileage of the customer vehicle and receipt of external data.
 30. Themethod of claim 25, further comprising determining, using a computingdevice, a trade equity amount for the customer vehicle based on thetrade-in value and information from a current financial agreementcovering the customer vehicle, wherein the deal sheet additionallycomprises the trade equity amount.
 31. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising contacting the potential customer regarding the replacementvehicle on the deal sheet while the customer is currently at thelocation for the vehicle service.
 32. The method of claim 31, whereincontacting further comprises contacting the potential customer with atleast one of a vehicle sales proposal or a vehicle lease proposalrelated to the replacement vehicle while the customer is currently atthe location for the vehicle service.
 33. An apparatus for a user todetermine which potential customers of a vehicle to contact, theapparatus comprising: a computing platform having at least one processorand a memory in communication with the processor; and at least onemodule stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configuredto: determine a customer whose vehicle is at a location for vehicleservice; determining one or more first vehicles that the user can offerto potential customers; identify a replacement vehicle from among thefirst vehicles, wherein said identifying is based on an associationbetween the replacement vehicle and the customer vehicle; customerinformation and financial information wherein said financial informationincludes a trade-in value for the customer vehicle and at least one ofan interest rate, a manufacturer's incentive that is available for thereplacement vehicle, and a selling price of the replacement vehicle; andgenerate a deal sheet including the customer information and estimatedfinancial terms for the replacement vehicle based at least in part onthe trade-in value of the customer vehicle and the financialinformation, wherein the deal sheet is a basis for determining that thecustomer is a potential customer to contact regarding the replacementvehicle.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the modules are furtherconfigured to identify whether the customer vehicle is at least one of asame make or a same model as the replacement vehicle.
 35. The apparatusof claim 33, wherein the modules are further configured to (1) determinean amount of difference between a current payment associated with thecustomer vehicle and an estimated payment for the replacement vehicle,wherein the deal sheet additionally comprises the amount of differenceand (2) generating the deal sheet, such deal sheet additionallycomprising the amount of difference.
 36. The apparatus of claim 33,wherein the modules are further configured to determine a trade-in valuefor the customer vehicle.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein themodules are further configured to determine the trade-in value based atleast in part on an assumed condition or mileage of the customer vehicleand receipt of external data.
 38. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein themodules are further configured to (1) determine a trade equity amountfor the customer vehicle based on the trade-in value and informationfrom a current financial agreement covering the customer vehicle,wherein the deal sheet additionally comprises the trade equity amountand (2) generate the deal sheet, such deal sheet additionally comprisingthe trade equity amount.
 39. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein themodules are further configured to generate the deal sheet, wherein thedeal sheet is a basis for determining that the customer is a potentialcustomer to contact regarding the replacement vehicle while the customeris currently at the location for the vehicle service.
 40. The apparatusof claim 39, wherein the modules are further configured to contact thepotential customer with at least one of a vehicle sales proposal or avehicle lease proposal related to the replacement vehicle while thecustomer is currently at the location for the vehicle service.
 41. Acomputer program product that includes a tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having sets of codes for causing a computerprocessor to perform the following steps: determining a customer whosevehicle is at a location for vehicle service; determining one or morefirst vehicles that the user can offer to potential customers;identifying a replacement vehicle from among the first vehicles, whereinsaid identifying is based on an association between the replacementvehicle and the customer vehicle; determining an estimated trade-invalue for the customer vehicle based at least in part on an assumedcondition or mileage of the customer vehicle and receipt of externaldata; receiving customer information and financial information whereinsaid financial information includes a trade-in value for the customervehicle and at least one of an interest rate, a manufacturer's incentivethat is available for the replacement vehicle, and a selling price ofthe replacement vehicle; and generating a deal sheet including thecustomer information and estimated financial terms for the replacementvehicle based at least in part on the trade-in value of the customervehicle and the financial information, wherein the deal sheet is a basisfor determining that the customer is a potential customer to contactregarding the replacement vehicle.
 42. The computer program product ofclaim 41, wherein the step of identifying further comprises identifyingwhether the customer vehicle is at least one of a same make or a samemodel as the replacement vehicle.
 43. The computer program product ofclaim 41, wherein the steps further comprise determining an amount ofdifference between a current payment associated with the customervehicle and an estimated payment for the replacement vehicle, whereinthe deal sheet additionally comprises the amount of difference.
 44. Thecomputer program product of claim 41, wherein the steps further includedetermining the trade-in for the customer vehicle.
 45. The computerprogram product of claim 44, wherein the steps further includedetermining the trade-in value for the customer vehicle based at leastin part on an assumed condition or mileage of the customer vehicle andreceipt of external data.
 46. The computer program product of claim 41,wherein the steps further comprise determining a trade equity amount forthe customer vehicle based on the trade-in value and information from acurrent financial agreement covering the customer vehicle, wherein thedeal sheet additionally comprises the trade equity amount.
 47. Thecomputer program product of claim 41, wherein the step of generatingfurther comprises generating the deal sheet, wherein the deal sheet is abasis for determining that the customer is a potential customer tocontact regarding the replacement vehicle while the customer iscurrently at the location for the vehicle service.
 48. The computerprogram product of claim 47, wherein the steps further comprisecontacting the potential customer with at least one of a vehicle salesproposal or a vehicle lease proposal related to the replacement vehiclewhile the customer is currently at the location for the vehicle service.